(Adapted from our email newsletter series)
Cardio shouldn’t be hardio
Buckle in because this may sound like a lot of nonsensical rambling. I’m talking Charlie Manson-type rambling. Unfortunately, I know of no other way to convey my plan for 2020 beyond jumping from idea to idea with the hopes that it all makes complete sense when I’m done.
Honey, pack up the kids. We’re going on a cross country journey……
So, let’s start with Alex Viada and his book The Hybrid Athlete. If you don’t know Alex, let me just say that he can probably out lift and out run you on your best day. On top of that, he’s uber smart, graduating from Duke with a degree in biology and runs his own company Complete Human Performance, which specializes in helping people run fast AND build muscle.
Like most guys, I’m interested in looking and being fit. I don’t really care to be hyuuuuge, but I do care about looking decent in a polo t-shirt and even better in a pair of swim trunks. And by that, I mean I don’t need 21” pythons and 6 pack abs. I just need maybe 1 vein in the ol’ bicep and something that resembles the outline of abs. I mean c’mon now. Daddy still wants to eat his pizza and Reese’s. I just don’t want that innertube around my waist or worse yet, man boobs.
So, like most guys, I was lifting 4 days per week (to build muscle) and performing anywhere from 2-3 HIIT sessions (to burn calories). And like most guys, it felt really good initially, but after “x” amount of weeks/months, one of three things would happen:
My body would start breaking down, and I’d have to take some time off. And then I’d restart “x” amount of weeks later, only to do the same weight I had done previously. It was a complete circle jerk. In July I’d hit 225lbs for 10 reps on the bench. 6 months later, I’d still be hitting 225lbs for 10 reps on the bench.
My gains would stop. I had absolutely zero gusto when I hit the weight room, and in fact, I almost came to dread my workouts. I’d continue to push and the workouts would continue to push back harder.
Life got busy, and I’d miss too many planned workouts, which would completely throw everything off. Eventually I’d get pissed and say screw it.
So, I was beginning to think there was something wrong with my plan. I had an inkling it had something to do with the HIIT sessions. A true Sherlock Holmes I am.
Enter Alex.
I’m sure you’ve heard that you shouldn’t run if you’re trying to build muscle. The theory is that slow, long distance cardio will eat away at your muscles (thanks to the enzyme AMPK), and like a hamster in a wheel, you’ll just keep on spinning, never reaching your goal.
Alex doesn’t think so.
In fact, he thinks the right kind of cardio is just what the average guy that wants abs and big biceps needs. It burns more calories than a traditional lifting session, aids in recovery, is easier on the joints than HIIT, and despite what you may have heard, is not as catabolic as people make it out to be IF you’re also lifting weights and eating sufficient protein.
The key is you have to the right kind of cardio – 30-40 minutes of slow cardio at a heart rate of between 65-75% of max heart rate. Not too fast. Not too slow. Long, slow distance (LSD). If you’re like Rocky, you’ll call it road work. Get out your grey sweatsuit buddy.
(If you don’t have a heart rate monitor and/or despise math, here’s a quick hack. At any point of time during the run, you should be able to sing whatever song is on your Ipod without slowing down or losing your breath. If you can’t, you’re going too fast.)
Hmmm.. not sure about that?
That’s understandable, but think about this. As the professional bodybuilders are in the final few weeks of preparation for their show, what do they add more of? Light cardio. 30-60 minute session of the stair stepper, incline walking, etc.
Why would they risk adding more cardio right before their show if it really eats muscle mass?
I don’t think they would, no matter how much testosterone they’re injecting weekly.
Of course, Alex’s answer is a little more “science-y.” Yes cardio will activate the enzyme AMPK, which makes the body more efficient ( hint – muscle isn’t efficient), but if you also strength train 1-3 days per week and consume enough protein, you’ll activate the enzyme mTOR, which will not only preserve the muscle mass you have but also build new muscle. Look no further than Crossfit to see an example of a muscle-bound men that can run a 5k under 24 minutes.
So why not just do HIIT sessions instead of long, slow cardio sessions or maybe even Crossfit?
We’ve already discussed what happens when a 242lb man who is 40lbs overweight and hasn’t exercised consistently for 15 years jumps, runs, squats, and lunges as fast as he can in a HIIT class…. Bad things like sore knees, bad backs, screwed up shoulders, etc.
On top of that, as Alex Viada mentions… The systemic effects of HIIT classes are too similar to strength training workouts. So, if you’re doing both, it’s only a matter of type until you overtrain and/or body breaks down (my problem). LSD doesn’t have those same effects. In fact, it can AID in recovery for your strength workouts while still burning calories.
This idea was also confirmed by Jack Daniels, one of the premier running coaches in the country for the last several decades and Steve Magness, an astounding athlete and collegiate running coach. Like you, I was also skeptical so I went to a few guys who really know their cardio.
Beyond all of that mumbo jumbo, LSD affects the heart differently than HIIT. So from a health perspective, it’s also beneficial to skip the HIIT and do some LSD.
So what does this mean for my program for 2020?
For one, I believe in exercising daily, with having at most 1 day off per week… I know. I know. I thought these ideas were for a busy dad. Who has time to exercise 6 or 7 days per week?
Don’t fret. All workouts are only 30-40 minutes at most. I firmly believe habits are built with daily actions. If you only exercise 3 days per week, you’ll never get in the groove, and as life tends to do, if something pops up on your gym day, you’re only exercising twice per week.
By exercising 6-7 times per week, you’ll have a cushion in case life throws you some jabs. Even if you miss two workouts per week because of unforeseen obligations, you’ll still hit 4-5 workouts that week.
Plus, 3 or 4 of these workouts you’ll be able to do from home, while watching Sportscenter.
Let’s move on…
I’ve reduced my HIIT workouts down to one 30-40 minute workout per week. I try to choose exercises that I don’t hit during my strength training sessions like reverse sled drags, sled rows, trap bar walks, sled pushes, wall ball tosses, and 200-400m incline runs. I go hard, often reaching 85-87% of my max heart rate, but I don’t kill myself. I always leave a little extra in the tank just incase a WWE wrestling match breaks out after class and I need to Macho Man Randy Savage someone from the top rope
I’ve added 2-3 LSD cardio days, never getting my heart rate higher than 75% of my max heart rate, which for me is around 145 bpm. At this pace, I can turn on an episode of The Office and watch it without losing focus because I’m breathing like a rhino during childbirth.
I keep these sessions at 30 minutes. If I’m getting ready for a 5k, I’ll make one of those sessions last about 60 minutes, but I’ll still keep my heart rate at no higher than 145bpm.
Now, if you may, let me go into a little detail on these LSD sessions. Like sex, you should actually feel 1,000% better once it’s finished. In fact, like sex again, you’ll want to go longer. Don’t. The first 5-10 minutes will suck because you’re body is getting warmed up, your joints are getting lubricated, and you haven’t broken a sweat yet. However, once that 8-10 minute mark hits, you’ll start feeling amazing IF you keep your heart rate below 75% of your max. People don’t believe me when I say this, but the hardest part about this type of cardio is restraining yourself from going faster. You’ll want to push the pace, especially during the last 5-10 minutes because you’ll be feeling amazing. Again, DON’T. Stay between 65-75% of your max heart rate. Save the pushing for your strength workouts, which we’ll discuss in the next email.
And with that, in the next post I’ll lay out my plan for my lifting workouts..
Side note: This is not meant to demonize HIIT as HIIT can be extremely beneficial. However, you have to earn it. Most people aren’t in good enough shape to jump into 2-3 HIIT workouts per week. Once you drop that 40lbs, can run a 5k, and lift a decent amount of weight, then you’ll qualify for HIIT. The Crossfitters you see on Instagram with 6 pack abs and huge biceps lifting an enormous amount of weight all earned it. In fact, most of the top guys have a background in powerlifting or played collegiate sports so they already had the foundation to succeed in a HIIT workout. Plus, I would suspect many of them are on the sauce. Just sayin’.
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